Kohavi heads to US in last-gasp Iran push
Israel warns it won’t heed dangerous deal
Israel warned it won’t abide by any agreement that does not protect the country from Iran’s existential threat against it, in advance of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi’s scheduled flight to Washington on Sunday.
This is Kohavi’s first formal visit to Washington as the IDF chief of staff, and he will be the guest of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, according to the IDF.
He will be joined by Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen and National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.
During his meetings in the US, Kohavi intends to discuss with his colleagues the common urgent security related challenges the two allies face, the IDF said in a statement.
Among those are the Iranian nuclear threat; the Iranian entrenchment efforts throughout the Middle East, and especially near Israel’s northern border; Hezbollah’s strengthening efforts; and the repercussions of its precise missiles project.
The Israeli delegation’s visit comes as talks to revive the 2015 Iranian deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program have advanced.
Israel is opposed to the deal’s revival, Ambassador to the US and UN Gilad Erdan told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, as he explained that Israel was in a unique position vis a vis Iran.
“We are the only country in the world that the Iranian regime threatens to annihilate,” Erdan said. “For Israel, Iran poses an existential threat. That is why we will not see ourselves bound by any agreement that does not fully address the threats against the existence of the State of Israel.”
“And every one of you would do the same if you were in our shoes, particularly in light of the Holocaust,” Erdan added.
The deal’s revival is a “serious mistake,” said Erdan, as he reminded the UNSC that the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed just last weekend that Iran was enriching uranium to 60%, a move that brought it closer to weapons-grade production. It is also a move that placed it further out of compliance with
the original 2015 agreement signed between Tehran and six world powers – the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
“What more does Iran have to do to prove it is not trustworthy?” Erdan asked. “How long can the international community ignore Iran’s provocative and dangerous behavior? Today, everyone understands that what Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu said back in 2015 – that the deal is fundamentally flawed and does not prevent the threats from Iran – is true.”
The Trump administration agreed with Israel, exited the deal in 2018 and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
The international community should use the leverage of those sanctions to improve the deal rather than hoping it can make changes once the agreement is revived, Erdan said.
“Just like in 2015, the fanatical Ayatollahs will use sanction relief to fund their terrorist activities and continue to secretly develop their military nuclear program,” Erdan said. “All they will have to do is wait for the restrictions in the agreement to expire by 2030. Then, they will have international legitimacy to have thousands of advanced centrifuges enriching uranium and their breakout time will be almost down to zero, as president
Obama himself admitted. What will this council do if that happens? Why wait until then instead of responding right now?
“It is clear to everyone that the capabilities and knowledge that Iran is developing right now are irreversible and no agreement can roll them back.”
Kohavi, Cohen and Ben-Shabbat are expected to echo some of these concerns in Washington.
The visit also comes just three months after the US decision to move Israel under CENTCOM’s jurisdiction, and following McKenzie’s visit to the country in January.
The IDF said the visit is “another component in the efforts to strengthen the ties and increase the cooperation between the two militaries.”
It added that “in recent years, the cooperation was tightened and the operative ties became stronger. More operative cooperation will be discussed in the meetings during the visit.”
Kohavi will be joined by his wife, Mrs. Yael Kohavi; the IDF attaché in Washington, Maj.Gen. Yehudah Fuchs; head of the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Tal Kalman; and head of the IDF International Cooperation Division, Brig.-Gen. Efi Defrin.